A situation in chess where any move a player makes will worsen their position; the obligation to move when it would be better to do nothing.
From German 'Zug' (move) + 'Zwang' (compulsion/obligation). Sometimes the best move is no move at all — but the rules won't let you.
In chess, sometimes EVERY possible move makes things WORSE and you WISH you could just skip your turn! But you CAN'T! Life sometimes feels like zugzwang too — forced to act when standing still would be better! ♟️😰
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